MONTREAL -- Audrey-Anne Veillette tallied twice in regulation and defenceman Jade Picard netted the deciding goal in a post-overtime shootout as the Montreal Carabins escaped with a 4-3 victory over visiting McGill to close out the RSEQ women's hockey schedule at Arena CEPSUM on Friday.

The Carabins led 2-1 after the first period and 3-2 after two but McGill rearguard Olivia Pridham, a sophomore from Stouffville, Ont., forced overtime with a power-play effort, her fifth career goal, at 16:24 of the third period.  Pridham, however, was called for hooking forward Mylene Lefebvre on a partial breakaway at 1:16 of the first overtime, and Montreal was awarded a penalty shot. Even though Lefebvre had scored earlier, Carabins coach Isabelle Leclaire elected to send out a different player to take the penalty shot but Veillette, the team's leading sniper, was foiled in her bid for a hat-trick by Martlets goaltender Sarah Carmichael, a sophomore from St. Lazare, Que.

After a second scoreless five minute overtime session, the game was decided in a shootout that featured a dozen players, the most ever in a McGill game. Montreal elected to shoot first and Amelie Poire-Lehoux scored. The Carabins were then stopped by Carmichael on four consecutive shots until Picard ended that streak

McGill team captain Christiana Colizza, who had scored in the first period, was the second of six Martlets to go in the shootout and the only one to find the back of the net. The native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., had a rare second shot when called upon to tie the round at 2-2 but was stopped by Carabins keeper Aube Racine to end the contest. Colizza is one of three graduating Martlets and has scored 31 career goals and 73 points in 159 games overall.

The other McGill marksman in regulation was alternate captain Makenzie McCallum, a senior from Morden, Man., the team's leading scorer, who finished with a 7-10-17 record in 34 contests overall. She will graduate with a career total of 26 goals and 50 points in 94 games overall.

McGill's third graduating veteran is Marika Labrecque, an alternate captain and a rugged forward from Lac Megantic, Que., who played defence for most of this semester. She suited up for 156 career games overall and scored 114 points with 40 goals and accumulated a school record 267 penalty minutes.

Montreal, which had a 25-19 margin in shots, went 0-for-1 on the power-play, while McGill was 1-for-3. Racine made 16 saves for the win, while Carmichael registered 21 saves and took the loss.

The second-place Carabins (17-4-4), who will be hosting the national championship tournament in March, will meet third-place Ottawa (15-6-3) in one RSEQ semifinal series. The other playoff match-up will feature top-seeded Concordia (20-4-1), the defending national champs, against fourth-place Bishop's (12-9-3). Both Carleton (8-14-3) and McGill (2-20-3) failed to qualify for post-season play.

SCORING SUMMARY

U SPORTS HOCKEY STANDINGS

MARTLETS TEAM STATS

MARTLETS REG. SEASON SCORING LEADERS

SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
@EarlZukerman (twitter)